Government Policy Statements

Mark Harper: To ask the Leader of the House what recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on ensuring that statements on significant developments in Government policy are made to the House.

Chris Bryant: My right hon. and learned Friend and I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues when deciding whether an oral statement should be made to announce Government policy. This is done against the general principle set out in the ministerial code that when Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance, in Parliament, and taking into account the importance of the issue and the other business before the House.
	The hon. Gentleman may wish to know that there were 88 oral statements last session, more than one every other sitting day, and already this session there have been 14 statements in just 18 sitting days.

Government Bills

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Leader of the House if she will review the proportion of House of Commons time allocated to Government Bills.

Chris Bryant: In 2006-07, the last Session for which published figures are available, the House sat for a total of 1,118 hours and 52 minutes. It spent 298 hours and 11 minutes on Government Bills, around a quarter of the total.
	This does not include time spent in Committee off the floor of the House, nor on pre-legislative scrutiny of draft Bills for future sessions.
	This compares with around 188 hours on private Members' business, around 17 per cent. of the total sitting time, and 118 hours and 35 minutes on Opposition business, around 10 per cent. of the total.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much revenue has been generated by tolls on the Dartford-Thurrock crossing in each year since its opening.

Paul Clark: For the period of the Extension Agreement—between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003, the Highways Agency records show annual revenue of £68,363,698.02. Records of annual revenues before this date are not held centrally by the Department for Transport.
	Details of the annual total revenues from the Dartford Crossing from 2003-04 onwards are placed in the House Library (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme—Annual Accounts).

Vehicle Certification Agency

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 199W, on departmental official residences, for what purposes Vehicle Certification Agency staff are based in  (a) the United States and  (b) Japan.

Geoff Hoon: Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) staff are based in the United States and Japan to carry out their operational duties as a United Kingdom (UK) type approval (TA) authority to conduct and witness tests to European Community (EC) and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) directives and regulations on vehicles coming into Europe from those countries.
	VCA does not have any official residences anywhere.

National Lottery: Voluntary Organisations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he plans to take to assist voluntary organisations in applying for Heritage Lottery Fund grants.

Barbara Follett: This is a matter within the operational responsibility of the Heritage Lottery Fund. The fund has advised that it is committed to providing efficient and simple ways of funding voluntary organizations throughout the UK, and it produces a range of guidance, including some designed to help groups carrying out heritage projects for the first time.
	The Government have encouraged all lottery distributors, including the Heritage
	Lottery Fund, to ensure that the application process is as simple as possible. The lottery distributors have set up a website
	http://www.lotteryfunding.org.uk
	which has proved very successful in letting potential applicants know about the relevant lottery programmes, including those run by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Sports: Clubs

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 10 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 484-5, on the Subs for Clubs campaign, what progress has been made in talks between his Department and HM Treasury.

Gerry Sutcliffe: DCMS officials have discussed the Central Council of Physical Recreation's (CCPRs) 'Subs for Clubs' proposal to allow community amateur sports clubs (CASC) to claim gift aid on junior subscriptions with HMT.
	A decision was made against implementing this proposal at the current time. DCMS officials are in discussion with CCPR to identify ways of encouraging more clubs to register for the CASC scheme and to maximize the use of the existing benefits that CASCs enjoy.
	To date the CASC scheme has now registered over 5,000 clubs receiving rate relief and other benefits. As of December 2009 Deloittes estimate that it has saved grassroots sports more than £48 million since its inception. This money has gone back into sport and has enabled clubs to spend it on everything from facilities to kit. Additionally, all community sports clubs will benefit over the next year from the reduction in VAT from 17.5 per cent. to 15 per cent. which will help to increase the funds available to clubs, and moreover provide more money in the pockets of potential donors.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of contractors and suppliers to  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies has reported compliance with the Government's security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The information is not available in the form requested. Since 1 July 2008 the DEFRA delivery network has been using the standard OGC security clauses for all new contracts and has also checked the compliance of its strategic IT partner with all the mandatory requirements of the Data Handling Review. In addition we have asked all information asset owners, responsible for assets containing personal protected information across the DEFRA network, to seek assurances from any other contractors or suppliers handling information on their behalf. Assurances have been received from all bar one of the owners in core DEFRA, and in respect of all executive agencies, except the Rural Payments Agency. In both cases the process of confirming assurances is under way but not yet complete.

Water Companies: Flood Control

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 612-13W, on water companies: flood control, what powers local authorities will have in circumstances where water companies do not co-operate, share information or take action which an authority considers to be necessary.

Huw Irranca-Davies: This issue is being considered as part of the forthcoming draft Floods and Water Bill, due to be published in spring 2009.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Grant Shapps: To ask the Prime Minister how much has been spent on  (a) departmental Christmas parties and  (b) staff entertainment in 10 Downing Street in the last three years.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office (Kevin Brennan) on 13 January 2009,  Official Report, column 582W.

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2008,  Official Report, column 476W, on the Freedom of Information Act 2000, when the public consultation on section 5 of the Act concluded; and when he plans to publish his response.

Jack Straw: The public consultation on section 5 of the Freedom of Information Act concluded on 1 February 2008. The Government continue to assess the merits of designating additional public authorities under the Act and will publish their response to the section 5 public consultation by the summer.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged 11 to 18 years resident in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire were treated for alcohol-related problems in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: Information is not available in the format requested. Data is available for treatment of alcohol-related health problems, the number of admissions to hospital for alcohol and alcohol-related health problems. An individual may account for more than one admission.
	While it is possible to analyse the admissions data to determine the number of individuals aged 11-18 years admitted to hospital for alcohol and alcohol-related health problems, this could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	The following table gives the number of alcohol-related finished admissions for patients aged 11-18 by primary care trust (PCT) in the Hertfordshire area for each year from 2002-03 to 2006-07. 2006-07 is the latest year for which data are available. The figures relate to the number of admissions rather than the number of individuals: an individual may account for more than one admission.
	
		
			  Number of alcohol-related finished admissions for patients aged 11 to 18 resident in Hertfordshire 
			  PCT  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 East and North Hertfordshire 104 94 104 99 102 
			 West Hertfordshire 107 110 114 82 122 
			  Notes: Includes activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.  Small numbers To protect patient confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced with "*" (an asterisk). Where it was possible to identify numbers from the total due to a single suppressed number in a row or column, an additional number (the next smallest) has been suppressed.  Alcohol-related admissions The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO). Following international best practice, the NWPHO methodology includes a wide range of diseases and injuries in which alcohol plays a part and estimates the proportion of cases that are attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Details of the conditions and associated proportions can be found in the report Jones et al. (2008) "Alcohol-attributable fractions for England: Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions". Figures for under-16s only include admissions where one or more alcohol-specific conditions were listed. This is because the research on which the attributable fractions are based does not cover under-16s. Alcohol-specific conditions are those that are wholly attributed to alcohol—that is, those with an attributable fraction of one. They are: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (142.6) Alcoholic gastritis (K29.2) Alcoholic myopathy (G72.1) Alcoholic polyneuropathy (G62.1) Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome (E24.4) Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol (G31.2) Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10) Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (X45) Ethanol poisoning (T51.0) Methanol poisoning (T51.1) Toxic effect of alcohol, unspecified (T51.9).  Number of episodes in which the patient had an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosis These figures represent the number of episodes where an alcohol-related diagnosis was recorded in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-related diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record.  Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.  Secondary diagnoses As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.  Data Quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Health Hazards: Lighting

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has  (a) evaluated,  (b) commissioned and  (c) undertaken on the effects of the use of low-energy fluorescent bulbs on public health.

Dawn Primarolo: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) advises the Department on scientific matters concerning optical radiation including low energy light bulbs. The HPA tested a sample of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and found that some emitted ultraviolet radiation which could, under certain conditions, expose people above international guidelines. As a result of its findings, the HPA issued precautionary advice on 9 October 2008 to the general public concerning the use of open CFLs in close-working situations. The HPA's advice can be found at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1223445516605?p=1153822623869
	The HPA's research was considered alongside other available evidence to inform a report by the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR). SCENIHR's opinion on light sensitivity can be found at:
	http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/scenihr_opinions_en.htm
	During 2008, the Department undertook a literature review on lighting and light sensitive and neurological conditions.

HIV Infection

David Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how he intends to respond to the resolution of the European Parliament of 20 November 2008, addressed to all member states, on HIV/AIDS: early diagnosis and early care.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department is already responding to the actions for member states set out in the European Parliament's resolution on HIV and AIDS. HIV testing remains free and confidential and the Department continues to fund awareness campaigns for men-who-have-sex-with-men and African communities, the groups most at risk of HIV in the UK. These awareness campaigns are additional to the Condom Essential Wear campaign which targets young adults. The Department also funds the National AIDS Manual and the Terrence Higgins Trust for information and helpline services on HIV treatment and living with HIV. This year, the Department is also investing £750,000 in new work to reduce undiagnosed HIV.
	The Disability Discrimination Act provides protection for people with HIV in employment, education and in the provision of goods and services. There are no restrictions on the freedom of movement of people with HIV in the United Kingdom.

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what national public health information his Department has provided to patients on the self-management of musculoskeletal conditions since publication of his Department's Musculoskeletal Services Framework on 12 July 2006.

Ann Keen: In October 2006 the Department in conjunction with the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) published, Information for people with bone and joint problems, this document has been placed in the Library. The NHS Choices website also gives guidance on the self-management of long-term conditions which can be found at:
	www.nhs.uk/YourHealth/Pages/Livingwithyourcondition.aspx.

Prostate Cancer

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 23 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 523-4W, on prostate cancer, when the most recent round of peer review visits were carried out; what percentage of prostate cancer patients are being managed by multi-disciplinary team meetings; and what percentage of primary care trusts are managing all their prostate cancer patients by multi-disciplinary team meetings throughout their care.

Ann Keen: The most recent round of national cancer peer reviews took place from November 2004 to March 2007. Peer review looks at multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) by cancer network not by primary care trust.
	The most recent round of national cancer peer review showed that in 90 per cent. of local urology MDTs and in 94 per cent. of specialist urology MDTs, all new urological patients, including prostate cancer patients, were reviewed by the MDTs.
	The information requested on the management of patients by MDTs throughout their care is not available centrally.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions to hospital for rheumatoid arthritis there were in each year since 1991-92, broken down by  (a) sex,  (b) age and  (c) primary care trust area.

Ann Keen: Unfortunately we are unable to provide time series data as far back as 1991-92 as the quality of coverage of primary care trust of residence reduces heavily. Data from 1996-97 to 2006-07 has therefore been placed in the Library.

Smoking: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the  (a) number of regular smokers in (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire and  (b) number of people who have given up smoking in each of these areas over the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: Information is not available in the format requested. Data is available for West Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) and East and North Hertfordshire PCT. Hemel Hempstead is covered by East and North Hertfordshire PCT.
	Estimated prevalence of smokers among adults aged 16 and over, along with associated confidence intervals for West Hertfordshire PCT and East and North Hertfordshire PCT are available from "Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours: Model Based Estimates, 2003-2005. 2006 Health Hierarchy" and can be viewed at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statisticsanddatacollections/populationandgeography/neighbourhoodstatistics/neighbourhood-statistics:-model-based-estimates-of-healthy-lifestyle-behaviours-at-pco-level-2003-05
	Information on the number of people who successfully quit smoking at the four week follow up (based on self report) in West Hertfordshire PCT and East and North Hertfordshire PCT in the last year 2007-08 are available from the "Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services: England, April 2007 to March 2008", Table 3.5, pages 28-30. This publication has already been placed in the Library.

Smoking: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many adults aged 35 years and over were admitted to hospital with diseases caused by smoking in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire in (i) 1996-97 and (ii) 2006-07.

Dawn Primarolo: Information is not available in the format requested. Data for 1996-97 is unavailable. Data is not collected for Hemel Hempstead and Hertfordshire. Data for East and North Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) and West Hertfordshire PCT are available for 2006-07. Hemel Hempstead is covered by East and North Hertfordshire PCT.
	Figures are available and provided on the number of admissions in national health service hospitals for those aged 35 and over with a primary diagnosis of diseases that can be caused by smoking and estimates of the number of those admissions that are attributable to smoking.
	The following table shows the number of admissions for those aged 35 and over with a primary diagnosis of various diseases that can be caused by smoking and estimates of the number of those admissions that can be attributed to smoking. Figures have been provided for 2006-07 in East and North Hertfordshire PCT and West Hertfordshire PCT. It is acknowledged that not all of the observed admissions included in the table will be attributable to smoking as there are other contributory factors to these diseases. Therefore the relative risks of these diseases for current and ex-smokers, compared to non-smokers have been used to estimate smoking-attributable admissions.
	
		
			  NHS( 1)  hospital admissions( 2)  for primary diagnosis( 3)  of diseases that can be caused by smoking and those attributable to smoking, 2006-07 
			  Number 
			   Observed admissions( 4)  Smoking attributable admissions( 5) 
			 East and North Hertfordshire 11,733 3,400 
			 West Hertfordshire 12,834 3,500 
			 (1 )The data include private patients in NHS hospitals (but not private patients in private hospitals) (2 )A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (3 )The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. (4) Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data. Observed admissions only includes those where gender was recorded. (5 )Estimated attributable number, rounded to the nearest 100.  Notes: 1. Figures exclude records where gender was unknown or not specified as relative risks used to calculate attributable admissions are gender specific. 2. Figures exclude records where country of residence was not confirmed as England.  Source: NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care

Stop and Search

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) people and  (b) people under 18 years of age have been stopped and searched under the Terrorism Act 2000 in each of the last eight years.

Vernon Coaker: Information on the number of persons stopped and searched under section 44 (sections 1 and 2) of the Terrorism Act 2000, from 1999-2000 to 2006-07 (latest available) are provided in the following table.
	From the information reported to the Home office it is not possible to separately identify the age of persons searched.
	
		
			  Searches of pedestrians, vehicles and occupants under sections 44(1) and 44(2) of the Terrorism Act 2000( 1) , 1999-2000 to 2006-07, England and Wales 
			  Stops and searches in order to prevent acts of terrorism 
			   Total searches 
			 1999-2000 1,900 
			 2000-01 6,400 
			 2001-02 10,200 
			 2002-03 32,100 
			 2003-04 33,800 
			 2004-05(2) 37,000 
			 2005-06 50,000 
			 2006-07 41,900 
			 (1) Formerly sections 13A and 13B of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 and repealed under the Terrorism Act 2000 (which came into force on 19 February 2001). (2) Figures updated since publication of the 2004-05 Bulletin.

Banks: EU Grants and Loans

Michael Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the monetary value of the loans made available to United Kingdom banks by the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the scheme announced on 30 October 2008 was on 12 January 2008; which United Kingdom banks have applied for funds; when each first applied; how much each received from the EIB; how many businesses have accessed the funds from each; and what the average number of employees of these businesses is.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 19 January 2009
	Since 30 October 2008, the following EIB loans for SMEs have been agreed between the EIB and UK banks:
	Barclays signed a £150 million loan on 16 December 2008;
	HBOS signed a £250 million loan on 18 December 2008; and
	RBS signed a £250 million loan on 23 December 2008.
	This means that since the reform by the EIB of its SME financing products in September 2008, a total of £1 billion of EIB loans for SMEs were made available by the end of last year. Further negotiations with a number of UK banks for additional new lending are ongoing.
	The Government do not currently hold information on the number of firms to have accessed the agreed funding. The Government continue to work closely with all UK banks to monitor their progress on drawing down and disbursing EIB loans.
	With regard to the number of employees of recipient SMEs, EIB rules state that its funding is available for businesses with 250 employees or less, consistent with the European Commission's definition of SMEs.

Banks: Government Assistance

David Howarth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the oral statement of 19 January 2009, on financial markets, by what authority he has authorised the Bank of England to create the £50 billion fund to purchase corporate assets from banks.

Ian Pearson: Arrangements for the Debt Management Office (DMO) to make finance available to the Bank of England are set out in paragraph 6.9 of the Debt and Reserves Management Report 2008-09.

Child Tax Credit

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 275W, how much his Department has spent on child tax credit payment to individuals subject to control orders in each year since 2005.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available in the format requested. Applications for child tax credit do not establish whether an applicant is subject to a control order. This information is therefore not readily available.

Members: Correspondence

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter of 27 October 2008 from the hon. Member for Hazel Grove on a constituent's difficulties regarding the collapse of Lansbanki.

Ian Pearson: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Financial Services Secretary hopes to be in a position to reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when a reply will be sent to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood's letter of 28 November 2008 on behalf of Gordon Ferguson of the Kaupthing Banking Group.

Ian Pearson: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Financial Services Secretary hopes to be in a position to reply to the right hon. Member shortly.

Embassies: Finance

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1048-9W, on exchange rates, which 10 overseas posts have had the greatest reduction in the purchasing power of their local budgets; and what the reduction has been in each case.

Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office maintains an overseas pricing movement (OPM) mechanism, intended to negate the impact of changes in exchange rates on the budgets of overseas posts. The OPM increases or decreases the sterling budget of posts when there is a change in the value of sterling relative to local currencies. This ensures that posts purchasing power is kept consistent.
	The following table shows the 10 posts most affected by exchange rate fluctuations and the resulting change in budget due to the last OPM exercise completed in October 2008.
	
		
			  Ranking  Country  Post  Initial budget  (£)  OPM uplift  (£)  New OPM uplift  (percentage)  New budget  (£) 
			 1 Moldova Chisinau 276,425 94,596 34.22 371,021 
			 2 Czech Republic Prague 1,367,901 453,943 33.19 1,821,844 
			 3 Poland Warsaw 1,899,370 615,929 32.43 2,515,299 
			 4 Georgia Tbilisi 751,724 221,919 29.52 973,643 
			 5 Slovakia Bratislava 514,504 149,465 29.05 663,969 
			 6 Israel Tel Aviv 2,021,378 577,534 28.57 2,598,912 
			 7 Brazil Sao Paulo 1,741,230 334,880 19.23 2,076,110 
			 8 Brazil Brasilia 2,756,710 529,071 19.19 3,285,781 
			 9 Brazil Rio de Janeiro 1,361,791 259,488 19.05 1,621,279 
			 10 Switzerland Berne 2,102,964 400,347 18.70 2,542,885

Ethiopia: Eritrea

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the UK's role is in resolving the Ethiopia-Eritrea border dispute; and what  (a) funding and  (b) staff resources he has allocated to this function.

Gillian Merron: The UK's policy towards the Ethiopia-Eritrea border dispute has three aims: to avoid any return to war; for the border to be demarcated; and for the parties to normalise their relations. Ethiopia and Eritrea should agree a way forward to allow demarcation to proceed and for a normalisation process to begin, as set out in the Algiers Agreements of June and December 2000, to which both Ethiopia and Eritrea are signatories.
	My right hon. Friend, the then Minister for Counter Terrorism and Immigration (Mr. McNulty) discussed the border issue when meeting the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on a visit to the horn of Africa in June 2008. My noble Friend, the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch-Brown also discussed this issue with the Eritrean ambassador in December 2008. In addition, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials regularly reiterate these messages to both the Ethiopian and Eritrean ambassadors to London and to their interlocutors in the Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea in Addis Ababa and Asmara respectively.
	From July 2000 to July 2008, we funded the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) through our assessed contributions. Our embassies in Addis Ababa and Asmara along with other members of the FCO are involved in efforts to resolve the dispute. However, as this is one of many issues with which they have to deal with, it is difficult to offer a precise figure for resources used for this purpose.

Revenue and Customs

Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, column 260W, on Revenue and Customs: Wales, what arrangements other business units relocating from Bangor have in place to ensure continuation of the provision across north Wales of the Welsh language service.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) provides a comprehensive Welsh language service across all business areas in line with the Welsh Language Act 1993. The majority of HMRC's Welsh language services are provided from its offices in Porthmadog and Cardiff. These offices continue to be able to recruit Welsh speaking staff. They are being retained and the services they provide to Welsh speaking customers who telephone, visit or write, will be unaffected by the regional review decisions for Wales.
	Those business units currently located in Bangor which offer services to external customers (principally Debt Management and Banking, Local Compliance and Benefits and Credits Delivery) are committed to the continued provision of a Welsh language service in accordance with HMRC's Welsh Language Scheme. Details of the scheme are published on the HMRC internet site at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cymraeg/welsh-language-scheme-english.pdf
	As my hon. Friend confirmed in her earlier answer of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, column 263W, face to face inquiry services in Bangor will continue to be provided for Welsh language speakers either from the same building or from another building nearby.

Re-offenders

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 203W, on re-offenders, what the release dates are for the 13 people still in custody.

Paul Goggins: Only three of the persons referred to in the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 203W, currently have release dates—April 2009, February 2012 and May 2012 respectively.
	If the hon. Gentleman would like further information he may care to write to me.

Sri Lanka: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment has been made of the humanitarian situation in the Vanni area of Sri Lanka following  (a) the government of Sri Lanka's order to UN agencies and humanitarian non-governmental organisations to withdraw their staff and operations from the region on 5 September 2008 and  (b) the flooding from Cyclone Nisha in November 2008.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development's (DFID) latest field assessment visit in September reinforced our considerable concern about the 230,000 or more displaced people and vulnerable residents in the Vanni and the lack of humanitarian assistance. Without regular direct access the detail of conditions in the Vanni is difficult to monitor. However, we remain in close contact with humanitarian agencies and plan another humanitarian mission in mid-February.
	We have continually pressed for all parties to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law and for humanitarian convoys to be allowed to deliver assistance more predictably. A full UN-led needs assessment is essential, especially after Cyclone Nisha.
	DFID has allocated £2.5 million to the UN, the International Red Cross and the International Organisation for Migration to help support the immediate needs of displaced and vulnerable residents in the Vanni and elsewhere in Sri Lanka. The problem, however, will not be resolved by funding alone and we are resolute in pressing for better humanitarian access and safe humanitarian space. I and other Ministers have pressed the Sri Lankan Government to allow this.

Members: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Minister for Housing will reply to the letters of 5 November 2008 and 5 December 2008 from the hon. Member for the Forest of Dean, reference FD1764, on rent increases for tenants of housing association properties.

Iain Wright: I have replied to the letters from the hon. Member.

Social Rented Housing

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2009,  Official Report, column 619W, on council housing: construction, which local authorities have made  (a) bids and  (b) successful bids for social housing grants to the Homes and Communities Agency.

Iain Wright: The first bids from local authorities for social housing grant from the Homes and Communities Agency will be submitted after we make the necessary changes to the revenue and capital rules described in the previous answer. We issued a consultation on these changes on 21 January. However, seven arm's length management organisations and other local authority wholly-owned special purpose vehicles have bid for grant, of which six have been successful and the other is awaiting assessment. Social homes owned by local authority vehicles of this nature are not subject to the revenue and capital rules which currently apply to council houses owned by the local authority itself.

Unitary Councils

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the reasons were for her decision to issue additional guidance to the Boundary Committee on 8 December 2008 to the effect that they should assess the affordability of and support for new unitary local authorities in  (a) Devon,  (b) Norfolk and  (c) Suffolk in aggregate rather than by individual proposed authority.

John Healey: We decided it would be helpful to the Boundary Committee to provide the additional guidance on the approach we are seeking for assessing unitary proposals involving two or more unitary councils, as from the financial information published by the Committee on 21 November, it was not clear that such assessments would be on the basis set out in the original request to the Committee of considering such a proposal in aggregate across all the unitary councils involved.

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF  (a) C-17 Globemaster,  (b) C-130K Hercules,  (c) C-130J Hercules,  (d) Tristar,  (e) VC-10 and  (f) other aircraft of each type have flown to the (i) Democratic Republic of the Congo, (ii) Rwanda and (ii) Burundi since 21 November 2008.

Bob Ainsworth: No RAF C-17 Globemaster, C-130K and C130-J Hercules, Tristar, VC-10 or other RAF aircraft have flown to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda or Burundi since 21 November 2008.

Departmental Data Protection

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 94-6W, on departmental data protection, how many  (a) desktop computers,  (b) laptop computers,  (c) hard drives and  (d) memory sticks have gone missing from (i) his Department and (ii) each of its agencies in each year since 2003.

Bob Ainsworth: The following tables show the number of officially issued assets centrally reported as missing (lost and stolen) from the MOD and its agencies since 2003. The figures in the following tables reflect the latest data held centrally as at 20 January 2009.
	
		
			  Figures for missing desktop computers, laptop computers, hard drives and USB  flash memory  devices for the MOD from 2003- 08 
			   MOD  organisations  Laptop  Desktop  HDD  USB 
			 2003 Air Command 6 — 2 — 
			  MOD Centre 12 5 — — 
			  Defence Estates — 4 — — 
			  Defence Equipment and Support 9 5 — — 
			  Defence Support Groups 1 — — — 
			  Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 3 — — — 
			  Navy Command 27 10 4 — 
			  Land Command 78 11 3 — 
			  MET Office — 7 — — 
			  PJHQ 14 — — — 
			  UK Hydrographic Office 1 — — — 
			  Other — — — — 
			  Total 151 42 9 0 
			   
			 2004 Air Command 14 1 2 — 
			  MOD Centre 7 16 11 3 
			  Defence Estates 50 1 — — 
			  Defence Equipment and Support 14 1 2 — 
			  Defence Support Group — — — — 
			  Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 1 — — — 
			  Navy Command 28 1 9 — 
			  Land Command 160 11 1 24 
			  MET Office — — — — 
			  PJHQ 17 1 — — 
			  UK Hydrographic Office — — — — 
			  Other — — — — 
			  Total 291 32 25 27 
		
	
	
		
			  Figures for missing desktop computers, laptop computers, hard drives and USB  flash memory  devices for the MOD from 2003- 08 
			   MOD  organisations  Laptop  Desktop  HDD  USB 
			 2005 Air Command 14 3 5 — 
			  MOD Centre 3 — — — 
			  Defence Estates 1 — — — 
			  Defence Equipment and Support 12 — — — 
			  Defence Support Group — — — — 
			  Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 5 — — — 
			  Navy Command 18 5 2  
			  Land 73 15 6 1 
			  Met Office 2 — — — 
			  PJHQ — — 1 1 
			  UK Hydrographic Office — — — — 
			  Other — — — — 
			  Total 128 23 14 2 
			   
			 2006 Air Command 11 2 1 3 
			  MOD Centre 14 — — 1 
			  Defence Estates 2 — — — 
			  Defence Equipment and Support 14 — 32 — 
			  Defence Support Group — 1 — — 
			  Defence Science and Technology Laboratory — — — — 
			  Navy Command 21 3 3 — 
			  Land Command 116 19 8 51 
			  MET Office 3 — — 1 
			  PJHQ — — 3 — 
			  UK Hydrographic Office — — — — 
			  Other — — — — 
			  Total 181 25 47 56 
		
	
	
		
			  Figures for missing desktop computers, laptop computers, hard drives and USB  f lash memory  devices for the MOD from 2003- 08 
			   MOD  organisations  Laptop  Desktop  HDD  USB 
			 2007 Air Command 8 — — 1 
			  MOD Centre 9 — — 4 
			  Defence Estates 5 1 — 1 
			  Defence Equipment and Support 10 — — — 
			  Defence Support Group 1 — — — 
			  Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 1 — — — 
			  Navy Command 7 4 2 — 
			  Land Command 77 9 6 2 
			  MET Office 1 — — — 
			  PJHQ 4 1 1 1 
			  UK Hydrographic Office — — — — 
			  Other 
			  Total 123 15 9 9 
			   
			 2008 Air Command 104 1 — 15 
			  MOD Centre 13 — 1 16 
			  Defence Estates 4 — — 3 
			  Defence Equipment and Support 16 — 20 1 
			  Defence Support Group 1 — — — 
			  Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 3 — — 1 
			  Navy Command 28 7 6 11 
			  Land Command 38 37 37 39 
			  MET Office 2 — — — 
			  PJHQ 5 — 16 10 
			  UK Hydrographic Office — — — — 
			  Other 3 2 — — 
			  Total 217 47 80 96 
			  Note: Memory sticks are defined by MOD as USB flash memory devices. DT—Desktop Computers LT—Laptop Computers HD—Hard drives USB—USB flash memory devices Other—the MOD agency could not be identified

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 11 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1001W, on departmental public relations, which areas of work or projects the external public relations firm worked on; and for what reasons in-house communications staff were not used for such work.

John Hutton: Biss Lancaster have been used by the Army's Recruiting Group: to provide strategic advice in the development of its recruitment marketing communications plan to support specific recruitment projects; to generate through the media interest among the recruitment target audience; and to obtain positive coverage of careers in the Army.
	In-house communications staff provide essential knowledge of the Army's business. However, the use of Biss Lancaster provides the Army with particular expertise and experience in the specialised recruitment field, offering best value for money to the taxpayer for this type of work.

Lynx Helicopters: Procurement

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 65-67WS, on defence equipment, what effect the reduction of the planned production order from 70 airframes to 62 airframes will have on the procurement cost of the Future Lynx programme; and when the decision to reduce the order was taken.

Quentin Davies: holding answer 19 January 2009
	The reduction of the planned production order will save some costs, however the extent and breakdown of these savings is commercially sensitive and if released could prejudice our commercial interests. The decision was taken as part of the examination of the equipment programme.

Lynx Helicopters: Procurement

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Statement of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 65-67WS, on defence equipment, on what date the decision was taken to reduce the number of airframes to be procured under the Future Lynx programme from 70 to 62.

Quentin Davies: holding answer 19 January 2009
	The decision to reduce the number of aircraft was taken as part of our recent examination of the equipment programme.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to reply to the letter of 9 December 2008 from the hon. Member for Billericay and others on the subject of nuclear test veterans.

Kevan Jones: I expect to reply shortly.

Reserve Forces: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel there are in each service of the volunteer reserves; and what the equivalent figures were for 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: Data on the number of personnel in each service of the volunteer reserves as at 1 April 2008 and 1 April 1997 is available in Table 2.17 of UK Defence Statistics 2008 (UKDS), which can be found at:
	http://ww.dasa.mod.uk/UKDS2008/c2/table217.html
	Copies of UKDS are also available in the Library of the House.
	In addition, DASA produces an Army Personnel Statistics Report on a monthly basis, which includes the Territorial Army. The total number of personnel in the Territorial Army (TA) as at 1 November 2008 was 35,920(1, 2). There are no equivalent publications for the Naval Service or Royal Air Force, therefore the latest available data for these services are those published in UKDS.
	(1) Due to ongoing data validation issues within the Joint Personnel Administration system, TA figures are provisional and subject to review.
	(2) Denotes provisional.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the  (a) planned and  (b) actual cost of each IT project completed by his Department and its agencies since 1997 was; what costs have been incurred on IT projects not yet completed; what the estimated cost of each incompleted project is; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Although the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any discrete IT projects, it has a number of projects and programmes that include changes to, or new, IT to a greater or lesser extent.
	The Department for Work and Pensions was created in June 2001, prior to that arrangements were the responsibility of different Departments and Agencies. The provision of actual costs for all such projects completed by the Department and its Agencies since then would only be available at a disproportionate cost. We have provided such information as is readily available in the two following tables. The first includes:
	The projects and programmes currently on the Department's current portfolio where the IT element of the project or programme results in the development and/or implementation of services that underpin the delivery of departmental business.
	The planned and actual investment costs of the current portfolio and the estimated cost on completion.
	Table 2 details recently closed projects including planned and actual investment costs on completion. The costs of running the solutions implemented by the projects and programmes are not included in either table as in the vast majority of cases they are more than compensated for by the financial and non financial benefits they generate.
	Initiatives that are associated with ongoing system improvements or enhancements as part of business as usual are also excluded.
	
		
			  Table 1:  Current DWP IT portfolio 
			  £  million rounded 
			  Project  Purpose  Original planned costs  Actual costs as at November 2008  Estimated cost on completion 
			 Employment and Support Allowance The project delivers the systems, processes and training to support delivery of the new employment and support allowance. 295 241 295 
			  
			 Customer Information System This project will deliver a database of key citizen information to be shared across DWP. The database will complement information currently available in the Department's key customer information systems, i.e. personal details computer system and departmental central index, and become their replacement. Consideration is being given for wider use of CIS by other Government Departments. 40 86 88 
			  
			 Central Payments System A modern integrated central payment engine and accounts payable system to improve accounting for benefit/pension payments. The system will also reduce risks of service failure, increase speed and efficiency, and provide information to improve customer service and reduce fraud and error. 90 44 178 
			  
			 Pensions Transformation Programme The programme will transform the Pension Service, bringing together business and IT change in ways that improve customer service and deliver efficiencies. 429 555 598 
			  
			 Pension Reform Delivery Programme To co-ordinate, manage and deliver a range of measures and consequential impacts which will establish a new structure for the UK pension system long term. 151 21 118 
			  
			 Document Repository Service This project seeks to support the Department's modernisation programmes through the provision of a document repository to store digitised images of documents received from customers (letters, faxes, e-mails etc.), cutting down paper in the organisation. 6 7 10 
			  
			 Data Centre Strategy The project is addressing the ongoing continued threat of business service continuity with a replacement strategy for Washington Data Centre. 33 4 33 
			  
			 DWP Change Programme This programme brigades a number of complementary initiatives to deliver the DWP Business Vision. It includes projects to bring in continuous improvement using lean techniques which should allow greater customer focus and efficiency in our process and business improvement projects to allow greater access to information. 245 45 246 
			  
			 Provider Referrals and Payment Project Deploy an IT system to automate and e-enable payment transactions between Jobcentre Plus and training providers. 17 3 18 
			  
			 Local Services Integration programme To provide local services with an IT solution that supports the end to end process making administration more efficient. 19 1 15 
			  
			 Government Connect To roll out a secure data network connecting Government and local authorities, including secure file transfer, e-mail and web-browser capability. 8 6 33 
			  Note:  Government Connect—£33 million forecast spend are the total costs of this cross government programme—planned DWP funding (£8 million), Communities and Local Government (£19 million) and Department for Children and Families (£6 million). 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Recently closed projects 
			  £  million rounded 
			  Project  Purpose  Original planned costs  Actual costs of project 
			 Centralisation of Benefit processing To centralise, automate and standardise benefit processing 140 118 
			 
			 Provider-Led pathways to work Central to the welfare reform agenda this project will contract the private and voluntary sector to provide additional help and support for all but the most severely ill or disabled incapacity benefit customers gaining employment. Additional help will be provided through additional mandatory monthly work- focused interviews and tailored, job-focused support, including help to manage customer's health condition, especially in relation to work. 17 10 
			 
			 DWP IT Transformation Programme (inc TREDSS & ICONS) Establishing new commercial arrangements with EDS for the delivery of live systems and services. 169 155 
			 
			 Fraud Referrals and Interventions Management System Fraud Referrals and Intervention Management System aims to deliver modernised programme protection activity 12 30

Post Office Card Account

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the Statement of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 965-82, on the Post Office Card Account, for what reason the addition of the ability to make direct debit payments through the Post Office Card Account would have made it more difficult to award the contract to the Post Office without completing the tender process.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 12 January 2009
	 We concluded that the contract for the Post Office card account should be awarded to the Post Office without completing the tender process. In reaching that conclusion, we took into account that the Post Office card account is a simple product—essentially a means of paying benefit—and that it provides an important social service to vulnerable people, particularly in rural and deprived urban areas. Direct debits, and other additional functionality, are already available through the basic bank accounts which can be accessed at Post Office branches. And we hope, over time, that the Post Office will be able to develop accounts with wider features, on a commercial basis.

Apprentices

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many of the 35,000 extra apprenticeship places for 2009-10 referred to in the departmental press release of 7 January 2009 are additional to those referred to in the most recent annual grant letter to the Learning and Skills Council of 18 November 2008;
	(2)  how many of the additional apprenticeship places referred to in the departmental press release of 7 January 2009 are expected to be in  (a) the public sector and  (b) the private sector.

Si�n Simon: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a 140 million package to provide an extra 35,000 apprenticeship places over the coming year in both the public and private sectors to help strengthen the country's competitiveness. The 7 January Press release by my Department provided further information about the package.
	All of the extra 35,000 places announced as part of the 140 million package will be available for new places in 2009-10 are additional to those places outlined in the Department's 18 November 2008 Grant Letter to the Learning and Skills Council.
	While we expect the public sector to deliver a significant proportion of the additional opportunities, we have not set a target for the balance between public and private sector which will be determined by employer demand.

Care Proceedings

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many applications for care proceedings were made by local authorities in November  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008.

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of public law care and supervision applications under section 31 of the Children Act 1989 in November 2007 and November 2008 are given in the following table. Public law cases are those brought by local authorities or an authorised person (currently only the NSPCC). Figures relate to the number of children that are subject to each application and have been rounded to the nearest 10. Please note that 2008 figures are provisional.
	Comparisons between single months should be made with caution as the monthly figures are subject to more volatility than those covering longer time periods.
	
		
			  Number of public law care and supervision applications under section 31 of the Children Act 1969 England and Wales; county courts and family proceedings courts 
			   November 2007  November 2008 
			 Family proceedings courts(1) 920 1,090 
			 County courts(2) 240 160 
			 Total 1,150 1,240 
			 (1) There have been data quality issues with figures for family proceedings courts. A new method of collection was introduced in April 2007 which has improved the coverage and completeness of data. (2) Research undertaken on behalf of Ministry of Justice has identified that some cases that have transferred from the family proceedings court to the county court have been incorrectly recorded as new applications in the county court, thus inflating the reported number of new applications through double counting (see Masson et al 2008).  Source: HMCS FamilyMan and manual returns, as at January 2009

Children: Protection

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many children were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2008;
	(2)  what percentage of children referred to children's social care received an initial assessment within seven working days in 2007;
	(3)  what percentage of child protection plans last for two or more years;
	(4)  what percentage of children became the subject of a child protection plan for a second or subsequent time in 2007;
	(5)  what percentage of core assessments for children's social care were carried out within 35 working days of their commencement in the last three years.

Beverley Hughes: 29,200 children were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2008. In the year ending 31 March 2008:
	71 per cent. of children referred to children's social care received an initial assessment within seven working days.
	5 per cent. of children whose child protection plan was discontinued were a subject of a plan for two or more years.
	14 per cent. of children became the subject of a child protection plan for a second or subsequent time.
	80 per cent. of core assessments for children's social care were carried out within 35 working days of initial assessments in the year ending 31 March 2008, 78 per cent. in the year ending 31 March 2007 and 74 per cent. in the year ending 31 March 2006.
	These figures have been taken from the statistical first release Referrals, Assessments and Children and Young People who are the subject of a Child Protection Plan, Englandyear ending 31 March 2008, which can be found at the following link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000811/index.shtml.
	Figures are for England only.

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2008,  Official Report, column 1114W, on children: protection, how many representations concerning child protection his Department has referred to the Commission for Social Care Inspection or Ofsted since its inception.

Beverley Hughes: It is not possible to quantify the number of cases referred to inspectorates by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The Department receives representations across a wide range of issues including on child protection, mostly in the form of correspondence. Some of these are shared with inspectorates for information whilst other matters may be passed to them on a more formal basis where specific action may be appropriate. In addition, local authorities are required in particular circumstances to notify Ofsted of the details of particular events, including those relating to serious incidents involving children or with respect to incidents occurring in settings for which Ofsted has regulatory functions. Other issues raised by correspondents with the Department may be pursued directly with local authorities or other agencies through the Department's regional Government office network.

Teachers: Pay

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effect on teachers of the end of management allowance safeguarding on 31 December 2008 and the introduction of teaching and learning responsibility payments; and how many teachers are affected by  (a) that change and  (b) the change in the amount of pay received by teachers as a result of the new time limit on safeguarding.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not available centrally, however based on a sample of local authorities we estimate that between 2 and 4 per cent. of teachers may be affected. Management allowances (MA) ceased to exist on 31 December 2005. Under the terms of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) a teacher who was in receipt of a MA on 31 December 2005 was entitled to salary safeguarding for a maximum of three years until 31 December 2008, in which to adjust to the reduction in their income.
	Teaching and Learning Responsibility payments (TLR) were introduced from 1 January 2006 and are now well embedded in the system and are being used to properly reward those who are undertaking a significant responsibility beyond those required of all classroom teachers.